What is it going to take to break the cycle???

Let me preface this post, with although yesterday I was feeling like 50% me, during the night, after my very late post, I took a turn for the worse. So much so that my best friend, who I love to death, who is totally my RIDE OR DIE, and can make me laugh even when I’m in the most sour mood, who works in emerg at one of our hospitals, suggested I come in. I took her up on her advice and was seen by a lovely doctor, who told me that I have an acute sinus infection, even though it feels like somebody is sitting on my chest, and my husband says I sound like a duck. If a duck could form words. Not that I sound raspy, and sexy like Demi Moore, no, I sound like a squeeky duck. Too bad for me. All this to say, forgive typos, all this week please and thank you, since I haven’t really edited, or proofread any of my posts, cuz my damn eyes are in one hole. You do have my apologies for any mess you encounter while reading my daily musings.

Now on to the topic of today’s post. I’m deeply troubled, and concerned that what this planet needs to shift it out of all this distrust, hatred and fear toward one another so that we may live in peace and harmony might never happen. For me, it has gone way past a thing that makes me “go hmmm” to a definite I CAN’T EVEN. I can’t even grasp how anybody would harbor so much hate, or fear that they wouldn’t give their fellow man the chance to show his innocence, or give them the opportunity to live. I mean, I know I said I wasn’t going to post about it, but then Dallas happened, and there just seems to be no end in site to the innocent lives being lost at the end of a barrel of a gun.

WHY DO SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE ACCESS TO THESE WEAPONS???

WHY IS IT WE CAN PUT SATELLITES UP IN THE SKY THAT CAN PINPOINT OUR EXACT WHEREABOUTS, BUT WE DON’T HAVE ADEQUATE BACKGROUND CHECKS ON ANYBODY HANDLING A WEAPON???

In this, I’m including police officers, military personnel, EVERY SINGLE PERSON should have to pass extensive medical checks to be able to walk around with something that can take another person’s life in the blink of a eye. I grew up with my mother having police officers as her good friends. I know they do get checked out, and I also know that it is pretty thorough, I have heard about many people who do not pass, who cannot be cops for one reason or another. So I appreciate that it is not like anybody can just walk in and be a law enforcement agent, which is good. What I don’t know though, and what I think might just be at the root of the trigger happy cops we see in horrific video after horrific video, is are they getting the PTSD support for these men and women who are out there, day in day out keeping the streets safe for us? We don’t walk in their shoes, we haven’t the faintest idea about what they’ve seen, how close they’ve come to death. We don’t know a thing about them. And I can’t help but wonder, are they getting the mental support they really need? On the flip side of that coin, what sort of background checks are there to ensure that men/women who want to serve are not racist? Is this something they try to uncover when they go through their psych evaluations? Because from the outside looking in, it doesn’t seem like this is something known about some of the police officers we’ve seen in these videos.

And what about the dude who shot up all those officers in Dallas, who were there protecting their people, supporting them during their time of grief over the loss of another man, loved by his family, who happened to be black, shot down in the prime of his life. Why did Dallas dude have the weapon he had, his statements, as read out in the news were filled with venom, hate and the desire for revenge, against white people and cops? How did he have the means to kill? Who gave him his weapon? And why did our new Prime Minister just sell $15million dollars worth of arms? What are we telling the youth of the Country, the World? It’s not cool for bad guys to kill innocent people in the streets, but it’s totally cool for the leader of your country to sell weapons for profit?? WTAF is going on out there??

Where does the cycle end???

Or maybe, the better question is WHERE DOES IT BEGIN? Perhaps if we can get to the root of the hatred, we can address all of it at its core, and then we can prayerfully, and hopefully find love to replace the hate. And peace, to replace the madness.

We should honor black lives, and all lives. Isn’t it just that simple?

We should honor our police forces around the world who are for the most part, incredibly brave, selfless people, putting their lives at risk every single day, so we don’t have to. The old expression; “don’t let one bad apple spoil the bunch” comes to mind here…

Let’s remember, not all black men carry guns.

And not all officers, shoot black men.

And more than anything, let us lead with love, and watch the world change…